Deficiências de minerais

Neste artigo procuramos relatar a situação mundial e brasileira com relação aos micronutrientes, em especial sobre os minerais. Os elementos químicos minerais desempenham funções de grande importância no organismo humano, sendo indispensáveis para o desenvolvimento e a saúde dos indivíduos. Ainda não existe uma avaliação global do estado nutricional dos indivíduos em relação a esses micronutrientes no Brasil, mas os estudos existentes apontam para a necessidade do acompanhamento das tendências alimentares que poderiam levar às suas deficiências com conseqüências adversas para a saúde da população e o desenvolvimento do nosso país.In this paper we will try to report the Brazilian micronutrients status, as well as in worldwide, specifically for minerals. Minerals have major importance on human body, becoming indispensable for the development and health of individuals. There is not yet an integral assessment of micronutrient status in the Brazilian subjects, but there are some studies pointing to the need of observation of alimentary tendencies that might lead to deficiencies, with adverse consequences to the populations health and the development of our countr

Importance and management of micronutrient deficiencies in patients with Alzheimer\u27s disease

Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, and it generally affects the elderly. It has been suggested that diet is an intensively modifiable lifestyle factor that might reduce the risk of AD. Because epidemiological studies generally report the potential neuronal protective effects of various micronutrients, the aim of this study was to perform a literature review on the major nutrients that are related to AD, including selenium, vitamins C and E, transition metals, vitamin D, B-complex vitamins, and omega-3 fatty acids

YAP integrates the regulatory Snail/HNF4α circuitry controlling epithelial/hepatocyte differentiation

Yes-associated protein (YAP) is a transcriptional co-factor involved in many cell processes, including development, proliferation, stemness, differentiation, and tumorigenesis. It has been described as a sensor of mechanical and biochemical stimuli that enables cells to integrate environmental signals. Although in the liver the correlation between extracellular matrix elasticity (greatly increased in the most of chronic hepatic diseases), differentiation/functional state of parenchymal cells and subcellular localization/activation of YAP has been previously reported, its role as regulator of the hepatocyte differentiation remains to be clarified. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of YAP in the regulation of epithelial/hepatocyte differentiation and to clarify how a transducer of general stimuli can integrate tissue-specific molecular mechanisms determining specific cell outcomes. By means of YAP silencing and overexpression we demonstrated that YAP has a functional role in the repression of epithelial/hepatocyte differentiation by inversely modulating the expression of Snail (master regulator of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and liver stemness) and HNF4α (master regulator of hepatocyte differentiation) at transcriptional level, through the direct occupancy of their promoters. Furthermore, we found that Snail, in turn, is able to positively control YAP expression influencing protein level and subcellular localization and that HNF4α stably represses YAP transcription in differentiated hepatocytes both in cell culture and in adult liver. Overall, our data indicate YAP as a new member of the HNF4/Snail epistatic molecular circuitry previously demonstrated to control liver cell state. In this model, the dynamic balance between three main transcriptional regulators, that are able to control reciprocally their expression/activity, is responsible for the induction/maintenance of different liver cell differentiation states and its modulation could be the aim of therapeutic protocols for several chronic liver diseases

Familial ALS-superoxide dismutases associate with mitochondria and shift their redox potentials

Recent studies suggest that the toxicity of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis mutant Cu, Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) arises from its selective recruitment to mitochondria. Here we demonstrate that each of 12 different familial ALS-mutant SOD1s with widely differing biophysical properties are associated with mitochondria of motoneuronal cells to a much greater extent than wild-type SOD1, and that this effect may depend on the oxidation of Cys residues. We demonstrate further that mutant SOD1 proteins associated with the mitochondria tend to form cross-linked oligomers and that their presence causes a shift in the redox state of these organelles and results in impairment of respiratory complexes. The observation that such a diverse set of mutant SOD1 proteins behave so similarly in mitochondria of motoneuronal cells and so differently from wild-type SOD1 suggests that this behavior may explain the toxicity of ALS-mutant SOD1 proteins, which causes motor neurons to die

What are the consequences of the AWG-projections for the adequacy of social security pensions? ENEPRI Research Report No. 65, 16 January 2009

This paper starts by describing the model MIDAS in detail. It next presents and discusses some simulation results for Belgium, Germany and Italy. Finally, the simulation results of two alternative policy scenarios are presented and discussed

Multistep, sequential control of the trafficking and function of the multiple sulfatase deficiency gene product, SUMF1 by PDI, ERGIC-53 and ERp44.

Sulfatase modifying factor 1 (SUMF1) encodes for the formylglicine generating enzyme, which activates sulfatases by modifying a key cysteine residue within their catalytic domains. SUMF1 is mutated in patients affected by multiple sulfatase deficiency, a rare recessive disorder in which all sulfatase activities are impaired. Despite the absence of canonical retention/retrieval signals, SUMF1 is largely retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where it exerts its enzymatic activity on nascent sulfatases. Part of SUMF1 is secreted and paracrinally taken up by distant cells. Here we show that SUMF1 interacts with protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) and ERp44, two thioredoxin family members residing in the early secretory pathway, and with ERGIC-53, a lectin that shuttles between the ER and the Golgi. Functional assays reveal that these interactions are crucial for controlling SUMF1 traffic and function. PDI couples SUMF1 retention and activation in the ER. ERGIC-53 and ERp44 act downstream, favoring SUMF1 export from and retrieval to the ER, respectively. Silencing ERGIC-53 causes proteasomal degradation of SUMF1, while down-regulating ERp44 promotes its secretion. When over-expressed, each of three interactors favors intracellular accumulation. Our results reveal a multistep control of SUMF1 trafficking, with sequential interactions dynamically determining ER localization, activity and secretion

The molecular chaperone Hsp90 is a component of the cap-binding complex and interacts with the translational repressor Cup during Drosophila oogenesis

In metazoa, the spatio-temporal translation of diverse mRNAs is essential to guarantee proper oocyte maturation and early embryogenesis. The eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E), which binds the 5′ cap structure of eukaryotic mRNAs, associates with either stimulatory or inhibitory factors to modulate protein synthesis. In order to identify novel factors that might act at the translational level during Drosophila oogenesis, we have undertaken a functional proteomic approach and isolated the product of the Hsp83 gene, the evolutionarily conserved chaperone Hsp90, as a specific component of the cap-binding complex. Here we report that Hsp90 interacts in vitro with the translational repressor Cup. In addition, we show that Hsp83 and cup interact genetically, since lowering Hsp90 activity enhances the oogenesis alterations linked to diverse cup mutant alleles. Hsp90 and Cup co-localize in the cytoplasm of the developing germ-line cells within the germarium, thus suggesting a common function from the earliest stages of oogenesis. Taken together, our data start elucidating the role of Hsp90 during Drosophila female germ-line development and strengthen the idea that Cup has multiple essential functions during egg chamber development

Contributo alla validazione della versione italiana della scala del Social Support di Susan Harter

Scopo del presente lavoro è proporre una versione italiana della Social Support Scale for adolescents di Susan Harter (1985) e di testarne le proprietà psicometriche. La scala permette di valutare il grado di supporto sociale percepito dal soggetto e la considerazione che sente di riceve da parte di altri significativi. La versione italiana è stata somministrata, in fase di pre-test, a 80 soggetti. I rilievi emersi hanno condotto ad alcuni adattamenti; la versione così ottenuta è stata somministrata ad un campione di 1203 soggetti (11-18 anni). Le analisi statistiche hanno consentito di verificare la consistenza interna e la struttura fattoriale della scala. Tali analisi hanno confermato l’attendibilità e la validità della versione italiana rispetto allo strumento originario. È stato inoltre realizzato un modello di Equazioni Strutturali, al fine di verificare la presenza di una struttura fattoriale sovrapponibile a quella originaria proposta dalla Harter. I rilievi emersi sembrano indicare che anche la versione italiana della scala proposta rappresenta un utile strumento per la comprensione e lo studio del supporto che l’adolescente percepisce di ricevere da parte di altri significativi. SUMMARY. In this paper we aim to propose an Italian version of the Social Support Scale for adolescents of Susan Harter (1985) and to explore its psychometric properties. The Social Support Scale allows to estimate the subject degree of perceived social support and the consideration from significant others. The Italian version was administered, in pre-test phase to 80 subjects. The results lead to some adaptations and this version was administered to a sample of 1203 subjects (11-18 years). The statistical analyses verified the internal consistency and the factorial structure of the Italian version with respect to the structure of the original scale. It was performed a Structural Equations modelling, to assess the properties of factorial structure. These results seem to indicate proposed Italian version of Social Support Scale can be a useful instrument to study the support that the adolescent perceives to receive from significant others